Mercy Mavericks'Dawn Hickey (4) is moved away from the ball by Saint Rose Golden Knights freshman Gianna Smith (22) during first half of NE-10 girls college soccer action Monday, October 8, 2012 at Sullivan Field at Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany. (J.S.Carras/The Record)

ALBANY -- The College of Saint Rose's women's soccer team celebrated Senior Day on Monday.

It wasn't their final home game, but when your three seniors are from Colorado, Washington and Wyoming, it's probably best to shoot for a holiday weekend, so families can attend.

"Because we recruit nationally and internationally, it's something that we take a lot of pride in," said coach Laurie Darling Gutheil, who is in her 17th season.

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St. Rose didn't let down it's senior class, beating Mercy, 3-0, in a Northeast Conference 10 game at Plumeri Complex.

The Golden Knights aren't just recruiting across the country, they have recently become a force nationwide.

Saint Rose, the defending Division II national champs, has been to the Final Four in four consecutive years.

They are looking to make it five this year, something the players all believe is attainable.

"That's the main goal right now," said star junior Carmelina Puopolo. "To get back to the Final Four, get to that championship game and win it again, defend our national title."

It was the first team national title in school history and reminders of that achievement can be seen on the scoreboard, on the light poles and one of many banners along the fence at the Plumeri Sports Complex.

"We do have a giant target on our back because of the amazing season last year," said Schodack native Meeghan Arno.

The Golden Knights have won six straight Northeast-10 Conference regular season titles and five consecutive tournament titles. That is one of the top soccer conferences in the country at the Division II level.

"It's about consistency," Darling Gutheil said. "It's about mentality. It's about holding yourself to the highest standard possible and allowing nothing less than their best every single day."

Saint Rose has players on its roster from 11 different states.

The team's top player is Puopolo, who is from Ontario, Canada. She broke the school's career points record, four games ago, and currently has 116.

"Carmelina is a game-changer," Darling Gutheil said. "She is just a tremendous striker."

Including this year, the Golden Knights have posted a 100-8-6 record over in the last five seasons. Being the defending champ is a little different though.

"The pressure is definitely a lot stronger," Puopolo said. "...It's a different feeling and every game is literally a battle."

Entering Monday's game, Saint Rose (9-1-2) was ranked No. 1 in the country. That will change today, when a new poll is released because of a loss last Tuesday. In fact, the Golden Knights went two straight games without winning last week, something the program hadn't done in 102 games, since September 2008.

The Mavericks (3-10-0) started Monday's game outplaying Saint Rose, but things returned to normal late in the first half.

"I think we remembered the way it felt last week to lose and even tie," said sophomore Brittany Barry. "We just don't want to feel that anymore."

Barry, who is just back from elbow surgery, scored two goals for the Golden Knights, on great feeds from Molly Harpster and Kristin Carr, respectively.

"We're really excited to have her back," Darling Gutheil said. "She, obviously, had a great finishing level of play today and it made a huge difference for us."

Barry used her speed, something that Saint Rose possesses in great amounts, to burn past the defender and beat the goalie to the near post, on her second goal.

"We usually try to score like that," she said. "We usually try to win with our speed and I think we have a huge advantage with that."

Arno added a second-half goal for Saint Rose, on a terrific free kick that she bent in the far side of the net.

Arno scored 150 goals in high school, at Maple Hill, setting a school record and leading the Wildcats to three Section II titles.

"All of us have our own individual skill and come from amazing teams already," she said. "But the way that we play together, once we start clicking, it's just unstoppable."

Even after the victory, their coach wasn't 100 percent thrilled, due to the slow start, but the team was back on the winning track.

"Today was about reestablishing what we needed to do and having a good result moving forward into another very demanding week," Darling Gutheil said.

And just like that, the Saint Rose soccer program rolls along, piling up victory after victory.